Electrically heated bath drying device



Dec. 24, 1968 F. v. GRABNER 3,413,452

ELECTRICALLY HEATED BATH DRYING DEVICE Filed Oct. 27; 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 6' 4 o 4x 44 1a 44 44 I x 80 Z2 2 L n I 74 92 M I J11 i o o 28 60 62 ff 5 20 INVENT OR H 070 K ene/Yea ATTORNEYfl Dec. 24, 1968 F. v. GRABNER 3,418,452

ELECTRICALLY HEATED BATH DRYING DEVICE Filed Oct. 27, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR /omwm A F NE S United States Patent 3,418,452 ELECTRICALLY HEATED BATH DRYING DEVICE Floyd V. Grabner, 517 W. 24th St., Pueblo, Colo. 81003 Filed Oct. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 505,353 1 Claim. (Cl. 219370) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dryer for drying persons bodies with warm air after bathing has a tubular housing enclosing a motor driven fan and an electric heating element for heating air drawn through the housing by the fan. The air inlet end of the housing is closed by a screen secured to radially inwardly directed tabs on the housing. The other end of the housing necks down to form a tubular air outlet to which one end of a flexible hose having a nozzle at its other end is connected. A handle is provided on or immediately adjacent the nozzle to aid in directing the nozzle.

The present invention relates to drying apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for the drying of persons bodies after bathing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for drying persons bodies with warm air after bathing in order to provide a sense of comfort, refreshment and well being greater than that which customarily results from the use of bath towels while avoiding the cost of maintaining a supply of clean bath towels and avoiding the danger of spread of fungal infection and the like by shared or insufficiently cleaned towels.

The bath dryer for drying persons bodies with warm air after bathing has a tubular housing with integral radially inwardly directed tabs at one end for securing an inlet screen over that end. The opposite end necks down to provide an integral tubular outlet to which one end of an outlet 'hose is connected. The outer end of the hose has a handle thereon to facilitate directing the warm air issuing from the hose about the persons bodies.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more clearly apparent during the course of the following detailed explanation relating to a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the annexed drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of the bath dryer partly broken away to expose motor, fan, heater and insulation;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary exploded rear perspective view of the bath dryer best showing the mesh protection ring, main body and insulation in relation to one another during assembly;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view substantially along line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view substantially along line 4- 4 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view substantially along line 5-5 of FIGURE 1.

The body dryer includes an exterior shell or main body 12 which is shown being formed of one-piece of tubular material for instance by deep drawing if made of metal such as chrome plated or painted brass or other metal of molding if made of plastic material or the like. The main body 12 is shown being cylindrical in transverse cross-sectional shape, this shape being preferred for economy but quite clearly the use of other shapes such as square, spherical, frusto-conical or the like would be within the purview of the invention. Near its forward end, the main body 12 undergoes a rapid reduction in cross-sectional area to define a radially directed, annular forward wall 14 from which a tubular outlet 16 integrally axially 3,418,452 Patented Dec. 24, 1968 projects to removably slidably receive an outlet hose 18. The latter preferably comprises a flexible, somewhat extensible, spiral wire reinforced tubular plastic hose of for instance 6-8 feet in length having an outlet nozzle at the outer end thereof. The outlet nozzle 20 or alternatively the hose 18 near the nozzle 20 may be provided with a control handle 22 so the user can more efliciently direct the nozzle 20. The first of these alternative positions is shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 1 and the second is shown in full lines in FIGURE 1.

The rear end of the main body is formed with a plurality of slotted tabs 24 or the like, best shown in FIGURE 2. Where the main body is composed of metal, the tabs 24 may be formed so that they originally project axially as shown in FIGURE 2. Subsequent to the installation of the internal components of the dryer, the tabs 24 can each be bent about its base so that they are coplanar and all project generally radially inwardly. (The uppermost one of the tabs 24 is shown bent radially inwardly in phantom lines in FIGURE 2.) In such position the openings or slots 26 through the tabs 24 will open axially and the protective screen 28 can be installed. The protective screen 28 may be formed of metal or plastic material or the like and is shown having a reticulated disk-shaped central portion 30 corresponding in diameter to the diameter of the main body at its rear end, and an axially extending annular collar 32 joined at one end to the outer periphery of the reticulated portion 30. The axially extending collar 32 may have a radially inwardly extending annular flange 34 integrally formed therewith to provide structural stability for the reticulated portion by providing a backing for it as well as mounting means for the protective screen 28.

The flange 34 and reticulated portion 30 are shown provided with several holes 36 corresponding to the openings of slots 26 in the tabs 24. Screws 38 may be employed to fasten the protective screen 28 to the main body 12 via the openings 26 and 36. When secured in place, the axially extending collar 32 of the protective screen engages the outer peripheral surface of the main body 12.

The protective screen 28 may be notched at 40 to permit removal of the protective screen without interfering with the power cord 42 of the dryer 10.

The main body or housing 12 may have a handle and support feet secured thereto when portable or other fixtures or mounting brackets secured thereto when a wall mounting or the like is desired. Exemplary fixtures are shown best in FIGURES l, 2 and 3. They include a bailtype handle 44 of strap metal or the like having integral opposed co-planar, generally horizontal slotted tabs 46 of the lower ends thereof secured to the main body 12 at the top thereof by screws 48 or the like. Of course the handle could have other designs and be fabricated from diverse materials such as synthetic plastic materials exemplified by Bakelite. Two axially spaced, transversely extending legs 50 are shown secured to the main body 12 by screws or the like 52 at angularly spaced points along the body. Clearly, in each instance where screws are mentioned as fastening means, equivalent means such as rivets or spot welds or solvent welds could be substituted without departing from the principles of the present invention.

Each of the legs 50 has a flat central portion 54 which depends beneath the main body 12 and upon which the dryer 10 is supported.

The internal components of the dryer 10 include a sleeve of insulating material 56 of asbestos made by conventional techniques such as drawing a vacuum through a reticulated mold immersed in an asbestos fiber slurry. Other insulating materials such as expanded synthetic plastic material and the like could be used. Preferably, the insulating sleeve 56 lies coextensively adjacent the inner peripheral surface 58 of the main body and is slidable into position during assembly of the dryer as shown best in FIGURE 2.

Within the main body, an electric motor 60 is mounted so as to have the output shaft 62 thereof project axially forwardly. The motor mounting may include a two part bracket 64 which encircles the motor 60 and is secured to the main body, for instance via screws 66 which project inwardly through appropriate openings in the insulating sleeve into slots in the mounting bracket. The two parts of the mounting bracket may be secured to one another by a screw 68 and a tongue and groove arrangement indicated generally at 70. A strip of insulating material 72 may profitably be interposed between the motor 60 and the bracket 64 to dampen the transmission of vibration from the motor to the housing.

A fan 74 having a plurality of blades 76 is mounted on the motor output shaft by a set screw collar 78 or the like in a sense so that rotation of the shaft 62 will cause the fan 74 to pull air into the main body or housing through the protective screen 28 and force the air forwardly toward and out through the outlet 16. Between the fan 74 and the outlet 16 is mounted an electric resistance heater 80 comprising coils or flat strips of wire, or wires encased in metal tubes filled with cementitious material such as the heating units used on electric stoves. The heater 80 preferably includes brackets 82 which facilitate its securement to the main body 12 by screws 84 or the like.

To illustrate the preferred size of the dryer shown in the drawing, the main body 12 may be 12 inches in diameter and 14 inches long and the fan 74 ten inches in diameter.

Both the heater 80 and the motor 60 are connected to the power cord 42, switches 86 and 88 are preferably interposed in the electrical circuits of the heater and motor in order to allow adjustment of the speed of the motor and amount of heat produced by the heater. In less expensive models, a simple on-otf switch may be substituted for either or both of the switches 86 and 88 or either or both could be eliminated, relying upon insertion and removal of the power cord plug on an electrical outlet to initiate and terminate operation of the dryer.

To use the dryer, the person who has bathed and wishes to dry simply turns the bath dryer 10 on and adjusts the air speed and temperature to taste, then directs the outlet nozzle about his body to evaporate the bath waer therefrom while inducing a feeling of comfort and refreshment.

It should now be apparent that the bath dryer described herein and shown in the drawing efficiently accomplishes each of the objects of the invention as set forth hereinbefore and clearly illustrates the principles of the present invention. Inasmuch as the preferred embodiment shown and described can be considerably modified, for instance, the tabs 24 could be eliminated and the screw receiving openings 26 and 36 placed in the cylindrical peripheral walls of their respective members; a timer for turning the motor and heater off and/ or on could be provided; or the nozzle 20 could be eliminated, without departing from the inventions principles, the present invention should be understood as encompassing all such modifications as are within the spirit and scope of the following claim.

I claim:

1. A bath dryer for the drying of persons bodies after bathing comprising: a housing having an inlet and an outlet, an electric motor mounted within the housing between the inlet and the outlet, said motor having an output shaft; a fan mounted on said output shaft, having a sense such that rotation of said output shaft by said motor draws air through said inlet and forces it toward said outlet; air heating means mounted in said housing between said fan and said outlet whereby air drawn into said housing by said fan is heated by said air heating means before being forced from the housing through said outlet; said housing comprising a tubular member having a plurality of radially inwardly directed tabs integrally formed thereon at the inlet end thereof; means defining an opening through each tab; a protective screen covering said inlet, said protective screen including a reticulated disk; fastening means received through said reticulated disk and said openings for securing the protective screen to said housing; the outlet comprising an integral, tubular reduced diameter portion at the opposite end of the housing tubular member; a flexible tubular hose having the inner end thereof secured to said outlet to facilitate directing the heated air issuing from the outlet about persons bodies; means defining an outlet nozzle on the outer end of the hose; and a control handle mounted on one of said outlet nozzle and said hose near the outer end thereof, for facilitating more efficient directing of the nozzle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,533,098 4/ 1925 Carmean et al 219369 1,607,195 11/1926 Gross 219-364 1,967,713 7/1934 Kelley 219-370 X 2,096,023 10/ 1937 Albertson.

2,109,279 2/1938 Soverhill 219370 X 2,353,247 7/1944 Kuettel 219-369 2,594,101 4/ 1952 Volker 219--370 X 2,597,215 5/1952 Wright et al 219-369 X 3,128,161 4/ 1964 Hudon 34--233 3,132,232 5/1964, Freedman et al. 219370 X ANTHONY BARTIS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

